Morrisons Community Champion Emma helps sow seeds of hope

As part of the new Morrisons campaign to spread hope with sunflowers, Rochdale’s community champion Emma Pedgrift will be working alongside Springhill Hospice, the Willows Dementia Hub, the Kingsway Practice and Petrus, plus a local school.

This week, the supermarket is giving away 25 million sunflower seeds to customers in an effort to spread hope and lift the spirits of the nation. 

The sunflower seeds will be offered to customers in packs of ten by checkout colleagues after they have finished their shopping and included within Morrisons online shopping orders.

Customers can plant the seeds in pots at home and watch them grow into dwarf sunflowers which will be between six and 14 inches tall. They should be planted in a six-inch-diameter pot at a depth of half an inch and will begin to sprout in two to five days.

 

 

In addition to handing out seeds to customers, Morrisons Community Champions will also be working with schools, care homes and community groups to distribute the packs and plant the seeds in their local areas.

Emma has chosen Springhill Hospice and The Willows Dementia Hub, and will work alongside the Kingsway Practice and Petrus to transform a small patch of land near the adjacent Metrolink stop.

Emma will be helping residents of The Willows plant their seeds of hope in their brand new garden, as well as taking treats. She has also approached Sacred Heart Primary School, where she hopes a year group will be chosen to plant the sunflowers.

“We’ll be working alongside Graham Hill, the social prescribing link worker for mental health, to set up ‘walk and a brew’ sessions. Anyone struggling can meet and we’ll go for a walk on the canal, before coming back for a takeaway brew at Morrisons Café. Then with the help of Petrus, we’ll be sorting an area next to the practice and the tram stop, transforming it into a miniature garden with benches and tables,” Emma explained.

To continue to spread messages of hope, Morrisons Community Champions have also launched the  ‘Little Sunshine’ award - to recognise those who have gone above and beyond in their local community throughout the pandemic. 

 

 

In Rochdale, Reece Kenworthy, 27, has been presented with the award for his hard work in helping the community.

Emma said: “Reece is autistic and he helps out in the community so much. He walks through the parks and picks up litter, as well as planting new seeds. It was only right he is rewarded for his efforts.”

Reece was presented with the certificate in store on Tuesday (13 April), where he also received a gardening hamper comprising of seeds and compost, pots, trowels and garden ornaments.

Next week, the supermarket will launch ‘Messages of Hope’. Little postcards will be given to schools and nurseries for the children to colour in and write a message.

“They can then keep hold of them and give them to a relative, or pass them back to me and I’ll give them to local care homes who may have lonely residents,” Emma added.

The sunflower seeds are available in Morrisons as long as stocks last.